John t



i lUNrTED STATES PATENT-Dwice;

, fan thereon.

JOHN T. AWALTER, on EnsToN, PENNSYLVANIA.

. e FEED-HOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 293,126, dated Fekruery5, 1884. Application nien Mnyiaisss. (No modem To all whom, it mayconcern:

- Be it known that l, JOHN T. WALTER, of Easton, in the county ofNorthamptonand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements inFeedHoppers; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referenceparticles removed from the middlings by it are deposited, the fine dustor` fuzz being car- `ried by said current from said chamber to a`dust-room or elsewhere. Its object is to generally improve theconstruction of that class of separatingfeeders referred to; and itconsists in the matters hereinafter described, and set forth in theclaims.

The feeder embodying my invention is, for convenience, illustrated inconnection with a portion of the mechanism of a middlings-puriiierinvented by me, and for which an application for Letters Patentisn'owpcndinghbut such feeder is equally applicable to anymiddlings-purifier of the same general constructionas the one mentioned;or it may be used as an independent separator, as will be hereinaftermore fully explained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of aseparating-feederembodying my invention, such feeder being shown inconnection with a portion of the top of a middlings-purier and with anexhaust- Fig. 3 is a front eleva- Fig. 2' is e a vertical transversesection of the feeder mentioned, taken upon connected to theinlet-opening of an exhaustfan, A3, (shown in Fig.l, )placed upon' thetop ofthe machine, and with the compartment in which the said screen Ais placed by openings in said compartment, which communicate by suitablepassages (not shown) with the said space A2. i

llhe parts of i the middlingspuriiier described are not necessary to theoperation of 6o my invention, and the screen A may be any screen uponwhich it` is desired te feed the *middlings or other material, and thespace A2 may represent any passage communicating with the inletopeniugof an exhaust-fan.

B is the hopper of the feeder, which is sup ported above the head ofthescreen A, and C is a feed-roller placed at the exit-opening at thebottom of said hopper, and arranged to deliver the material therefrom ina thin stream to the said screen, and which is constructed and operatesin a well-known manner. roller C is supported in suitablebearings uponthe casing or housing of the feeder, and is given its rotary movement bymeans of aspur-wheel, C2, which meshes with a pinion, C, placed upon asuitable driving-shaft',` as shown.

" Beneath the ieed-roller C isv a vertical -pas sage, D, which is placedover the inlet-opening a in the top of the purifier proper, and throughwhich the middlings descends as it is fed from the hopper.

At one side of the passage D, and at the lower end thereof, is formed anarrow horizontal opening, D', and communicating with the said passageat the opposite side thereof is an upwardly-extendingpassage, D2, whichis connected to the settling-chamber E, said chamber communicating, bymeans of a vertical passage, F,and the space A2,. with the exhaust-fanA. rlhe opening D and the passage Dzextend the full width of the passageD, and the current of air` drawn by the ex- `haust-fan through saidopening passes diagonally upward through the stream of middlings,falling through the passage D and through the passage D2,'carrying withit a considerable Aportion of the lighter and coarser impurities anddust contained in said middlings. After passing upwardly through thepassage D2, such airis drawn through a semicircular passage, d2, at thetop of the feeder, and downwardlyr The ICO

into the settling-chamber E, which is provided with a vertical screen,e, constructed to effect a separation of the larger and heavierparticles from the dust and fuzz contained in such air. From the chamberE the air-current, carrying with it the fine dust or fuzz, is drawndownwardly through the vertical passage F, and through an aperture, f,in its bottom into the space A2, out of which it is taken by theexhaust-fan.

For the purpose of regulating the exit of the material from the hopper Bas it is fed` therefrom, a sliding-valve, I, is placed over the openingb, through which the material escapes from the hopper. rlhe said valveis connected to and is operated by a horizontal disk or plate, G, placedin the interior of the hopper, and so arranged that when the material inthe hopper is above the top of said plate it will be carried downwardlyby the weight ,of the material thereon, and will move said slide-valve,through the medium Of its connection therewith, so as to keep the.exitaperture open. A spring, t', is preferably arranged to act upon thevalve I, which spring tends to keep the said valve closed, so that whenthe material in the hopper falls below the limit of the downwardmovement of the plate G its action upon said plate will cease, and thevalve will be moved by said spring so as to reduce the exit-apertureuntil the material rises in the hopper and the plate is again drawndownward thereby. The plate G is attached to the end of a lever, G,which lever passes through the front wall of the hopper and is pivotedthereto. rI he outer arm of the said lever G is connected, by means of arod, g, with a short arm, 7L, upon a rock-shaft, H, which is mounted inbearings at the sides of the feeder, and is arranged in a positionparallel to and a short distance from the slide I. The arm It is placedupon the central portion of the rock-shaft, and upon said shaft, nearboth ends thereof, are also placed two arms, h, which are connected attheir extremities tothe slide I, so that when the inner end of the leverG is ,depressed by the descent of the plate G, and the ends of the armshand h are drawn upward thereby, the said slide will be raised,V and thewidth 0f the aperture b increased. The arms 7L and ZL are preferablyattached to the rockshaft H by means of short hubs or sleeves 1L, whichencircle said shaft, and which are provided with set-screws h, by whichthe said arms may be set at any desired angle. The relative positions ofthe plate G and the slide I may thus be adjusted so as to vary the widthofthe exit-opening, as is found necessary or desirable in the operationof the feeder. rIhe ends of the arms h are preferably secured to theslide I by having their ends inserted in apertures in said slide; butany other convenient or preferred device for connecting the said arm tothe slide may be used. The ends of the'slide I are supported in suitableguides, as shown. Thespring t', for causing the slide I to remainclosed, when the material in the hopper falls below the top of the plateG, is preferably half-elliptical in form, and is secured to the hopperabove said slide, with its ends resting upon the upper edge thereof. Thesaid spring is held at its central portion in an eye formed upon the endof an adjustable plate, I. The said plate I is slotted, and is held uponthel front wall of the hopper by means of a thumbnut, i, placed upon abolt secured in said hopper, and passing through the slot in said plate,whereby the said spring may be adjusted to yact upon the slide withgreater or less pressure, as desired. The spring t' is preferably madeof steel wire, and the upper edge of the slide I is provided with alongitudinal groove, in which its ends rest, and by which they are heldin place. Any desired or preferred kind of spring or springs may be usedto force the slide I downward in place of the spring t' de.- scribed;.or the valve may be weighted so as to accomplish the same object.

In order to limit the upward movement of the slide I, an adjustablestop, I2, is placed .upon the front wall of the hopper above the saidslide, and secured thereto by means of a thumb-screw, as shown. Byadjusting said stop, the amount of vertical play permitted in the saidslide and the size of the exit-aperture b may be varied, as desired, sothat when there is a continuous discharge to the said hopper, through aspout from a bin or elsewhere, the exit-opening may be regulated todischarge the material as fast as it is received into the hopper. A

In order to effect a more perfect separation of the material passingvinto the chamber E with the air-blast, a vertical screen, e, isplacedin the upper portion .of said chamber, and between the inlet and outletpassages at the top thereof. This screen is made of the requisitefineness, to allow the passage of the fine dust or fuzz contained in theair, but to exclude the coarser particles which it is .desired to sepa.-rate therefrom, which coarser particles, being IOO arrested by the saidscreen, fall to the bottom of the receptacle.

For the purpose of providing an additional separation of the fine dustfrom the coarser particles mentioned, ahorizontal slit or opening, E',is formed in the exterior wall of the chamber E, through which opening acurrent of air is drawn, which current passes upwardly through thematerial arrested by the screen c, and falls to the bottom of thereceptacle. adjustable slide-valve, e', by which the aircurrent may beregulated as is found necessary. The bottom of the receptacle E is pro-The opening Eis provided with an j vided with an inclined bottom, asshown,which bottom Slopes toward an exit-opening, E2, for the escape ofthe material deposited therein. A depending outwardly-openingflap-valve, e?, vis placed over the aperture E2,whicl1 allows theoutward passage of the material accumulated behind it, but prevents anyiniow of air. A regulating-valve, f, is arranged to control the openingat the upper end 4of the passage F, which forms the enit-opening for theair l er and beneath the said aperture, which refrom the chamber E. Thesaid valve is attached to a shaft, f2, which extends through `the sideof the feeder at one of its ends, and

is provided with a slotted segmental plate, f3, which may be secured soas to hold the valve j" in any desired position by means of athumbscrew, ft, placed upon a bolt secured in the side of the feeder andextending through the slot in said plate f". By moving the valve f thestrength ofthe air-current passing through the feeder may be varied soas to produce the most effective result, and according to conditions inthe material operated upon. As an additional means of regulating theair-current, an aperture is formed in the side of the passage F, whichaperture is provided with a pivoted valve, F. By opening the valve F'air may enter the passage F and will pass directly through the opening fto the exhaustfan, and thus lessen, to a greater orless eX- tent, thedraft through the passages of the feeder.

For the purpose of providing a compact and economicalstructure in thefeeder, and in order to locatethe chamber E in position to allow theconvenient discharge of material therefrom and the entrance of airthereto, the airpassages D2 and F are placed side by side, and betweenthe said chamber and the hopper B.

' The chamber E and the passage D2 are connected by means of a passage,d2, formed between two semicircular plates, d3 and (1*, which projectabove the top of the hopper, as shown. The passage d2 opens into the topof the chamber E at one side of the screen e and adjacent to the outsidewall of said chamber, the inner semicircular plate, d", being connectedat one end to the top of the said screen and at the other end to the topof the partition d', between the passages l)2 and F. The partitionwalle3 between the chamber E and the passage F terminates at its top betweenthe ends of the curved plate dL mentioned,`so that the air drawn fromthe said chamber passes over the upper edge of said partition and -intosaid passage. The shaft f2 of the valve f is placed in contact with thesaid plate d at its central portion, as shown in Fig. 2, and rotates incontact therewith when moved, so as to pre vent the passage of airaround said valve and into the passage F uponA its opposite side. Thefront wall, d, of the passage `D is inclined forward, asV shown, so asto deflect the material passing from the hopper over the roller C intosaid passage, such construction being necessary on account of the sizeof the roller and the location of the other parts in the machine, asshown.

In order to prevent any upward passage of air through the aperture a,through which the material from the feeder described passes downwardlyto the screen of the middlingspurifier, a narrow transversely-arrangedreceptacle, a, is preferably placed in the puriceptacle is provided inits bottom with a depending flap-valve, a?, constructed to allow thedownward passage of the material falling into said receptacle, but whichwill close and prevent the upward passage of air toward the feeder.

The separating'feeder described need not necessarily be placed so as tofeed directly into a middlings-purier, but may be used separately, itbeing necessary in-such case to con# neet it to a separate fan. rlhedevice described may also be used in the process of gradual reduction,for taking out the light bran from the material between the breaks.

I claim as my invention l. In a feeding-hopper, the combination, with avalve, I, for regulating the exit of material from the hopper, of aplate, G, located within the hopper, a pivoted lever, G, connected withthe plate, and a roclcshaft, H, provided with arms hand h', connected,respectively, with said lever and valve, substantially as described.

2. In a feeding-hopper, the combination, with a valve, I, for regulatingthe exit of material from the hopper, of a plate, G, llocated within thehopper, a pivoted lever, G', connected with the said plate, aroclcshaft, H, and arms h and 7L', adjustably secured to said shaft andconnected, respectively, with saidlever and valve, substantially asdescribed.

3.^'Iheco1nbination, with a feed-hopper, B, of a sliding valve, I, aplate, G, located in the hopper, connections joining the plate G and.

the valve, a spring, 1'., constructed to engage the said valve at itsends, a plate, I', adj ustably secured to the hopper and connected withthe said spring at the central portion of the latter, yand an adjustablestop, I2, for limiting the upward movement ofthe valve, subst-arr tiallyas described.

4. The combination,with an exhaust-fan, of a hopper, B, provided with apassage, D, a settling-chamber, Ed located in the same cas ing as thesaid hopper and adjacent thereto, a screen, c, located in the upperportion of said chamber, and a partition, d', located between theadjacent walls of the hopper and chamber, and joined at its ends to theside walls of the casing, and constructedv to form with said walls ofthe hopper and chamber passages D2 and F,

connecting the top of the chamber at opposite sides of the screen e withthe passage D and with the said exhaust-fan, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN T. WALTER.

lVitnesses: i

Cults. B. HETNEH, M. H. WEBER.

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